For the past 22 years, Caleb has run CC Soundhouse in Utah. His bands, comprised of musicians ages 12-18, are regarded as some of the finest in the world, and have received dozens of awards, including a combined 52 of the prestigious DownBeat Awards and many more.

Caleb’s flagship ensemble, the Crescent Super Band, has a long list of performance credits that includes many of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals

In 2011, Caleb was named the “John LaPorta International Jazz Educator of the Year,” one of the highest honors in music education. He was also President of JEN, the Jazz Education Network.

He has appeared with artists as varied as GRAMMY-winning bassist, Christian McBride and Neon Trees frontman, Tyler Glenn. He has performed the National Anthem on solo saxophone at various NBA games.

In 2013, Caleb wrote The Articulate Jazz Musician, with Dave Matthews Band saxophonist and multi-GRAMMY winner, Jeff Coffin. This book provides a cohesive way to articulate the jazz language. He also co-authored, Rehearsing the Jazz Band, with Mary Jo-Papich.

In our latest series of interviews from the NAMM 2020 Show in Anaheim, Donna interviewed Saxophonist, Producer, Composer and Arranger Darren Rahn. Darren has had multiple #1 singles on the Billboard Contemporary jazz charts over the years, and has produced artists such as Najee, Dave Koz, Riley Richard and many others.

In this interview at the Key Leaves Everything Saxophone Podcast NAMM Hang 2020, we talked about

Darren’s advice for recording in a studio

His experience performing with and producing Dave Koz’s latest Christmas album

Darren’s interesting analogy for creating and performing music

How to find your voice

The role your equipment should play, and he shares some gems he’s found

And more

Keep in mind, it was pretty noisy at NAMM, but what Darren shared was really good, and we didn’t want you to miss it.

In our first interview from the NAMM Show 2020 in Anaheim, CA, Donna sat down with classical saxophonist, Chika Inoue.

Chika has performed with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Brooklyn Metro Chamber Orchestra, and many other orchestras in the United States, as well as internationally at Festivals in Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy and China.

A native of Osaka, Japan, Chika spent most of her youth in Frankfurt, Germany and San Diego, California. She has won first prize laureate at the Japan International League of Artists Music Competition, the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus Young Artists Competition, Redlands Bowl Young Artist Competition, Fresno Musical Club Bell T. Richie Award, and the Beverly Hills National Auditions. A graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music (D.M.A.), California State University, Fresno (M.A.), and UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music (B.A.), Chika is dedicated to sharing her knowledge with students. She is currently on faculty at Los Angeles City College as well as the California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Chika actively looks beyond the standard saxophone repertoire for works that allow the saxophone to shine, continuously transcribing and performing works of violin, clarinet, oboe, flute, voice and piano, expanding the limits of the saxophone technique and artistry.

She is a Conn-Selmer, Vandoren, and LefreQue endorsing artist.

In this interview, we talked about:

Some interesting saxophone accessories to make your tone fuller and more in tune

Her approach to playing music for Duos, in particular with guitarists

Why she prefers to re-arrange traditional classical music for Saxophone